Leaf transferring device in cigar machines



March, 5, 1935. K. E. GRANSTEDT v1,993,661

LEAF TRANSFERRING DEVICE IN CIGAR MACHINES Filed April 24,1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fi'gi m E J I! l K- E. @mnskdf March 5, 1935. K. E. GRANSTEDT 1,993,661

LEAF TRANSFERRING DEVICE IN CIGAR MACHINES Filed April 24, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [W b 12R Ey M-L Patented Mar. 5, 1935 UNI-TED STATES The present invention relates to a leaf transferring device in cigar machines of the type in which the leaf carrier comprises a suction chamber orsuction head having a wall or" bottom plate provided with suction holes, the tobacco blade being held to the said wall or"plate by suction: The leaf carrier is-movedaskn'own per so from a cutting pad, where it receives a tobacco leaf to' a'device where the leaf is rolled off from the carrier and wrapped about a bunch. 1

' As'the leaf is being rolled oif from the leaf carrier more and more suction holes are uncovered, so that the part of the tobacco leaf still adhering to the leaf carrier is no longer held #with sufficient suction power and tends to slide by the successive removal of the leaf from the,

suction head in the wrapping operation does not have time to reduce the vacuum in the chamber during the wrapping operation except in a relatively small degree. In a preferred embodiment there is provided-insidethe wall in which the suction holes are disposed a channel (or channels) inconnection with the said suction holes or the greater part thereof, said. channelhaving such dimensions relatively to the dimensions.- of the holes, that while the leaf is being removed from the said wall a stagnation or arrestation of the air current entering through the suction holes takes place in the said channel. Preferably this channel has such a shape that wherever a crosssection is taken of the channel this cross-section has an area which is less than the total cross-sectional area of the suction holes situated between the said cross-sectional area of the channel and the fore end of the channel. In this way the suction air passing through the uncovered suction holes is to a certain extent checked in the,

relatively to the total cross-sectional area of the suction holes, narrow channel, whereby the suction effect on the part of the tobacco leaf not yet unwrapped from the carrier is at least very nearly maintained at its. full strength. This object may also be attained if the thickness of the wall in which the suction holes are disposed is considerably greater than the diameter of the suction holes. The best and most reliable result PATENT,

LEAF TRANSFERRING DEVICE IN CIGAR MACHINES Karl Erik Granstedt, Stockholm, Sweden, as-

signor to Aktiebolaget Formator, Stockholm, Sweden, a Swedish joint-stockcompany 1 Application April 24, 1931, Serial No. 532,660

In Sweden May 3, 1930 5 Claims; (Cl. 131-39) is attained if both of the said means are employed.

The object of the invention is thus secured by means of a particular constructionof the suction head, no automatically adjustable valves or other looseor moving parts being required and Without the necessity of dividing the chamber inside of the suction plate'in a plurality ofcharnbers in the longitudinal directionthereof.v The invention thus provides a very'simple'and reliable "construction. 1 Y

A preferreol' embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawingsm Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross-section through a' suction head. Fig. 2 shows a horizontalsectio'nthrough the same on line IIII in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 showsa vertical cross-section through the same on line IIIIII in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 shows a similar section on line IXIX in Fig. 1. Figs. 5 and 6' show modified embodiments of the plate provided with suction holes. 1 I

The leaf carrier comprises a suction chamber 1, the upper end of which as known per se is con nected to a suction device not shown. The lower-- end of the suction chamber is closed by a" wall 2 provided with suction holes 6. According to the invention this wall has a thickness considerably in excess of the diameter of each suction hole and preferably this thickness is five or rather-ten times the'diameter of the suction holes 6. The outer side of the wall has for-its object to receive a cut tobacco leaf from a 'cuttingpada'nd transfer it to a wrapping device, where the tobacco leaf is wrappedabout a bunch, and to hold the leaf during this wrapping operation. According to the invention, a plate 3 is arranged inside of this wall and at a small distance therefrom, preferably in an inclined position, the object of this plate being to guide the air entering through the suction holes 6 through the comparatively narrow channel formed by the plate and the upper side of the wall to the interior of the suction chamber 1. The plate 3 extends in the direction in which the leaf is rolled off nearly along the whole length of the wall, leaving a large opening 4 over that part of the tobacco leaf which is to form the tip of the cigar, so that the tip part of the leaf is securely held to the last, even after the other parts of the leaf have already been removed from the underside of the wall 2. The position of the plate 3 is such that between the same and the wall 2 is formed a channel 5 with successively increasing cross-sectional area, this being so dimensioned relatively to the suction holes in the wall 2 that the suction effect on that part of the leaf, which is still resting against the wall 2, is not reduced while the leaf, being wrapped about the bunch, leaves the wall. Consequently the air passing through the holes thus uncovered does not appreciably reduce the vacuum in the opening 4, and when the wrapping of the leaf about the bunch is nearing its end the tip part of the tobacco leaf which is still adhering to the wall is exposed to nearly the full suction. In this way the tip of the cigar is wrapped as tightly and evenly as the rest of the cigar. The channel 5 must of course be suinciently large to provide for a certain suction effect on the leaf along the whole length thereof. It is, however, of the greatest importance that the tip part of the leaf is constantly subjected to a strong suction even after the other part of the leaf has left the wall 2.

According to the drawings, a flow area which successively increases in the direction in which the leaf is rolled off is provided by successively increasing the height of the channel in the said direction. The same result can of course be ob tained if the width of the channel (extension laterally) increases successively.

If the channel everywhere has the same or nearly the same flow area, the said checking of the air entering through the holes of the suction plate may be obtained if the number of suction holes per unit length or the diameter of the suction holes varies in a certain manner according to their distance from the fore end of the channel.

The wall provided with suction holes may consist of two or more plates or the like arranged on each other and detachably held together for example by screw joints or the like.

The length of the suction holes in each plate will then be relatively small, so that after separating the plates the suction holes can be easily cleaned.

Such embodiments are shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the suction wall consists of three plates 7, arranged the one above the other. The holes 6 in two adjacent plates are inclined in different directions and communicate with each other, so that the air channels thus formed have a length, which is greater than the thickness of the suction wall. As further the channels have a zig-zag shape there will be an increased arresting effect of the air in the suction channels.

According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 6 the suction wall is composed of a great number of thin plates 8. Contrary to the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, in which the diameter of the holes is less than the thickness of an individual plate, the diameter of the holes in the embodiment of Fig. 6 is approximately equal to or somewhat greater than the thickness of a plate.

What I claim is:

1. In a suction head for wrapper carriers the combination with a suction chamber of a suction wall for carrying the wrapper and provided with suction holes, a channel extending along the inside of said suction wall and communicating with the suction chamber at the one end and further communicating with the suction holes, said channel being sized in such a way, that wherever a cross-sectional area is taken of the channel this area is less than the total cross-sectional area of suction holes intermediate between this cross-sectional area of the channel and the fore end of the channel.

2. In a suction head for wrapper carriers the combination with a suction chamber of a suction wall for carrying the wrapper and provided with suction holes, a channel extending along the inside of said suction wall and communicating with the suction chamber at the one end and further communicating with the suction holes, the said channel having a flow area which successively increases in the direction in which the wrapper is rolled oil.

3. In a suction head for wrapper carriers the combination with a suction chamber of a suction wall for carrying the wrapper and provided with suction holes, a channel extending along the inside of the said suction wall, and formed between said suction wall and a partition, arranged at an acute angle to the suction wall.

4. In a suction head for wrapper carriers the combination with a suction chamber of a suction wall for carrying the wrapper and provided with suction holes which extend from the wrapper engaging side of the suction wall to the opposite side of said wall, the suction wall being composed of a plurality of plates arranged on each other, the suction holes having a length greater than the thickness of the assembled wall.

5. In a suction head for wrapper carriers the combination with a suction chamber of a suction wall for carrying the wrapper, said suction wall being composed of a plurality of plates which are arranged on each other, and which are provided with suction holes in such a way, that they form air passages through the suction wall, which have a length which is greater than the thickness of the suction wall.

KARL ERIK GRANSTEDT. 

